Gunpoint
by Miss Eggplant
Summary: Seven years later, after the murder of a young woman by the name of "Elaine Sieghart", the killer has appeared. By murdering women, one by one, the killer had attracted the agency. With few members related to the cause, the skilled divisions scattered to find clues. That is-when a member was murdered, and everyone became involved.
1. Peaceful

"_Mama? Mama? Are you alright? Mama. . Why is there red water coming from your back? Mama. . I thought you said that knives were dangerous. Please, wake up. I'm scared."_

_You looked down at Mama, there was red water coming out of her. You shook her arm. It's night time, and you came home from school. On the floor with the red water reads "Mama loves you, Elle" scrawled with a finger. She looks scared, you wonder what scared Mama._

_"Mama, I love you too. When Papa comes home, he'll make it all better, so please wake up!"_

_Mama is very special to you, because Papa is never home. Papa loves you too. When Papa comes home tonight, you're going to tell him that Mama isn't moving._

_You're going to tell Papa that you love him._

_Why is there salty water from your eyes? You think that Mama isn't going to wake up; that Papa can't make it better._

_You realize they're tears. This is just a dream._

* * *

Elesis wakes up, the bed is ruined and messy. She gets up, disoriented, and looks at the calendar. Today was the day you were going to go register for GCMI. Grand Chase Murder Investigation-a detective agency, as she recalls.

". . . My head. . I feel like I just dreamed of something unpleasant."

She wipes her hand across her eyes, only to find the accompanying salty tears on her palm. _'Again. . I wonder if it's the same dream. I can never remember'_, she thinks in her head. That aside, Elesis had more important matters.

"What time is it- S-Seven!? I-I'll be late!"

Elesis rushed out of bed, tumbling onto the ground in the process. She gets up in a hurry and brushes her hair, then changes into casual clothing. Shirt with a pocket at the breast; dark coloured pants with a belt. She also remembered to put on a monotone red tie and a brown coat. Next it was boots. Oh, right, she couldn't forget her fedora.

Her cousin will kill her if she's late.

She didn't even really want to do this anyways-her cousin made her do it, after all! She wasn't all that interested in guns, though her aim was pretty short. Elesis grabbed the suitcase she had prepared two days before. It had sounded interesting; working in a detective agency.

Besides, she wanted to look into her own little murder mystery.

He promised her that she'd find the murderer someday. That he'd help her. She hoped that he was right and didn't just make her join his workplace just to flaunt off his little cousin. He always liked to brag about everything-and him being her official guardian didn't really help in his little bad habit.

Elesis snuck out of her old apartment complex. Her cousin had promised her a new one closer to her new workplace, and she wasn't at all complaining. Elesis managed to avoid the rapacious landlady. She forgot to pay rent anyways. As she left with all of her items, she left a note of depart to her.

The cab was already waiting there, to Elesis' surprise. She gave the cab driver the money, but he kindly declined.

"Mister Ecnard Sieghart has already paid for the expenses of Miss Elesis Sieghart? Is that correct?"

"Ah, yes. Of course."

Yes yes, of course. He always spoilt his little cousin. He would always offer to pay her expenses and bills or get her gifts of just try to send her plain cash. She didn't mind, but she preferred being independent, therefore rejecting his offers often. When he came up to her with a job offer, though, she didn't decline at all.

In the cab, the young adult redhead leaned against the glass of the vehicle. It was cold, the glass, that is. February was always this cold. Snow fell gently outside. It's a good thing that it only snows gently here.

After a few hours or so, she finally arrived at the building. It appeared to be quite new, though it appeared to be extremely dank. Dingy, even.

Elesis went to the back of the building, _'Totally not sneaky at all,'_ she thought briefly. Her cousin said that he'd have a complete fit if she didn't enter from the back, and she didn't want to test her elder guardian's anger. She knew that he could be a literal homewrecker if it led to it.

She knocked. Not even twice, but the door flung open from the inside.

"Red! I'm so happy to see you!"

Suddenly, a handsome young man came out. Sleek black hair was all about his head casually. Extremely subtle purple highlights gleamed with his cheeriness. He was wearing casual clothing; consisting of a shirt like Elesis' and loose pants held up barely by a belt with a gun holst.

He hugged the redhead girl, which took her by surprise. She didn't think that about six months without seeing each other would induce so much. . Touching.

"H-Hey! I get it already! Stop clinging onto me like I could die any instant!"

The man backed away from the annoyed female. Even he knew when to back off when she was pissed. She was all-business, he noticed. Sieghart patted the shorter female on the head. He always thought she was cute when pouting. Sieghart led her inside to get settled.

"Come in, it's much warmer in here than outside," he told her while smiling.

"I swear, you're too laid back."

"You're too uptight~"

Sieghart put his hand behind her back and comfortingly led her inside, chirping happily. He was only about four years older than her. 21. Then again, it's not his fault that she graduated earlier than expected.

GCMI only takes in the most skilled fighters. Most of them are young and strong, all of them around 16 - 25.

The male let her sit down in a chair. The room was well equipped with working lights, though they sometimes flickered suddenly. It had a desk and a large black leather chair behind it, which Sieghart sat in. On the desk was paperwork and a computer on the side. It was messy-Sieghart was never the kind of person to tidy up anything.

"Since you're my little cousin, I guess I'll move you up some ranks-"

"Absolutely not! I want to show you what I can do first, then decide! I swear-"

"Okay okay! Fine! Aha. I was just joking around."

He held his hands up in defeat, laughing as he went. Sieghart knew her all too well. Always independent, she would always tell him.

"Anyways, since there weren't any recent investigations, let's have you meet the others. It's pretty laid back here, and we're all good buddies-well, almost everyone.

Suddenly, there was a knocking at the door. It was a repetitious tone, gentle but loud. Sieghart sighed, not wanting to get up.

"Hey, Red, can you perhaps open the door?"

He laid back in his chair. His lazy personality shone the brightest when he was in his comfy chair. Elesis, seeing no signs of him attempting to get up, went to answer the door.

As she opened the door, a tall, handsome man came out. He looked young. Perhaps a year older than Elesis. His hair was tied neatly in a long, black ponytail, which appeared to be blue at first glance. He had deep blue eyes.

"O-Oh! I was looking for Sieghart. . ."

Elesis deducted that me must have some kind of information to give to her cousin, so she stepped aside. Sieghart, however, was completely laid back. The young man who came in awkwardly walked up to the desk. _'Pretty, but awkward as hell,'_ Elesis thought in her head.

"Your latte-"

As soon as he said that, Elesis shot up from her place. She rushed behind Sieghart's desk and immediately, violently smacked his head. It made a horrid cracking noise, but the girl didn't seem to mind it at all. His face contorted in pain, while the bystander looked extremely terrified.

"The hell do you think you're doing!? Don't make some poor employee order things you should buy yourself! Lazy asshole!"

The aggressive gesture was so sudden that right after, Sieghart tumbled down onto the ground. Crippled in pain, he actually looked close to crying. Meanwhile, Elesis didn't bat an eyelash and continued to lecture him about responsibilities.

The male who entered the door was indeed frightened to no explanations. He cowered a bit in the corner, but quickly realized he had to help in some way.

"B-Boss-"

"What do you think you're doing!? Can't you see he's in pain? Turn around, get out, and get a nurse or something! Are you blind!?"

The aggressive female immediately turned on him, yelling at him to get the nurse. He hightailed, not wanting to anger her further. She was just like a cork ready to pop out of the bottle in a fizz.

"A-Ah! R-Red! You didn't have to do tha-ouch-you scared the poor guy!"

He squirmed as Elesis kneeled down and poked him.

"If he can't handle that much yelling, then why is he even here? Besides, you shouldn't be so laid back! If you keep up that attitude, I may just have to take over the Boss title for you."

She was dead-serious, as usual. Sieghart knew that if she took over, it would be a living hell for everyone.

"F-Fine. I'll try to be more strict, little cousin-Ahaha. Now help me up-ow-and call back Ronan."

"Ronan? So that's his name?"

"Yeah."

She picked up Sieghart easily and set him in his chair. Deep down, he was relieved the… argument had gone so smoothly. His quenched troubles didn't lie dormant for long, as she demanded for him to explain why he would make someone order him a _latte_, and to deliver it casually as if he had been doing it for a long time.

"I'm always stressed, you know! I need some relaxati-"

"No excuses! You're _always_ relaxed!"

"Yea, and you're always never relaxed. Why don't you start being more laid back?"

"I can't afford to be laid back! Unlike you, I value my job!"

She was really fuming, now. In that instant, someone at the door snickered quite obnoxiously. It's to be noticed that Sieghart suddenly became pissed off and angry. It was hard to get Sieghart in such a bad mood that quickly. Elesis turned around, only to be met face-to-face with a tall man, even taller than Sieghart.

"_Dio Burning Crayon."_

"_Ecnard Siegfart."_

Elesis, feeling the aura of discontent and anger between them, stepped back immediately. She observed the two, half of her scared to her wits, and another that was angry at the intruder for interrupting her lecture.

"So, who is _this_?"

The man named Dio pointed to Elesis, who was standing there.

"That's none of your concern, Crayon!", Sieghart suddenly fired up just as suddenly as Elesis had. It did startle the girl, as she has only seen him angry about two times in her entire life. Now she knew what he meant by _'I'm always stressed'._

"No need to get fired up, Assmouth."

"No need to disrespect your _Boss_, Sir Dio I-can't-aim-for-my-fucking-life."

"Really, now?" Dio scoffed, but was evidently _extremely _pissed about Sieghart's nickname for him, "Talk about horrible comebacks."

The two started silently staring each other down, as if it was a life-and-death situation. Elesis felt extremely uncomfortable in that room. She could literally feel the aura of umbrage emanating from both their persons.

Abruptly, the door opened once again, revealing Ronan with a nurse next to him.

"What happened here!?"

He seemed worried out of his guts, although he knew exactly what was going on. Elesis, however, was completely unused to this and was prepared to beat the shit out of her cousin if he did anything rash. Same to this Douchbag Burning Crayon guy.

"_You still didn't answer my question, Siegfart._"

"I am not inclined to answer questions made by a _banned_ officer. Now get the hell out of my office."

Dio was worked up and was doubtlessly enraged at Sieghart's impulsive behaviour. He slammed his fists onto the table, then turned around and left, scoffing as if this wasn't a huge deal. He shoved Ronan out of the way to exit.

"Who's that guy?" Elesis asked, a bit shaken from the encounter.

"Nobody. Just know that he's a douchebag who doesn't deserve my dear little cousin's attention."

He was still on edge. At that moment, Ronan stepped in full view with the nurse, who didn't seem bothered in the least.

"You called for a nurse?"

"No, Ronan, it's fine," Sieghart responded casually with his usual cheerfulness,"You don't have to listen to the orders that Red gave. I don't blame ya though, she just has that. . Talent. . To be a natural born leader, I guess."

"For some reason I felt like that was an insult!" Elesis interjected.

"Relax, Red-"

"I told you to stop calling me that. My name is _Elesis_, E-L-E-S-I-S."

"Aha. You're always so worked up about that~ In truth, you're probably used to it by now. Anyways, what do you want, Ronan?"

The nurse had already left the young man there. He stood stiffly in the middle of the office. Two pairs of eyes observed him.

"I . . Was just here to meet the cousin of the Boss. Of course. She's the one standing next to you, correct? Ellie, I presume?"

"My name is _Elesis_, were you not listening?"

"Haha. Ellie is a pretty cute name for such a cute girl like you, Red~" Sieghart laughed and patted Elesis on the head affectionately. She blushed, which was very noticeable.

"S-Shut up! That isn't my name!"

Ronan stood there in the middle of their brother-sister seeming skirmish. He was embarrassed that he got her name wrong. "I-I'm so sorry, Elesis!"

Sieghart let out one last chuckle. "So, yea. This is Ronan," the Boss continued, "He's my information collector as well as an officer-I think. .Whatever. Just know that he's useful and is awesome at getting information that we need~" he spun childishly in his chair.

"Ecnard! Don't do that. It's ridiculous for someone at your age."

"So? It's not like I'm thirty or something. It's like I just barely got out of teenhood~"

Elesis sighed and facepalmed. She knew he was just doing this to mess with her, but it's not like she cared _too_ much.

"Really, Red, it's so fun to mess with you. Ah, yes, teenage girls. They're the best~"

"Now you just outright sound like a pervert!"

"Shh, we're only four years apart anyways."

Ronan again, was standing there awkwardly and unincluded. Sieghart noticed this and got up, then made Ronan face his little cousin.

"Ronan! I think I may have to give you self-confidence lessons."

"H-Huh!? I'm not _that_ shy!"

"Yes, you are. Look at you, you've been here this whole time but only muttered about ten sentences!"

"Y-Yes, but- I mean- Elesis is-"

"I've actually been talking this whole time. I agree with Ecnard, you should really have more self-confidence."

Sieghart patted Ronan on the shoulder.

"You heard her. Even I don't dare defy her, or shit may happen," he whispered quietly into Ronan's ear.

"Oh, okay," he muttered back. "My name is Ronan Erudon." he held out his hand and shook hers.

"I presume you already know my name. Huh? Erudon? Isn't that the name of the family that started the idea of a detective agency in the first place?"

Ronan nodded proudly.

"I didn't think that an actual family member would actually join. Mind sparring sometime?"

"S-Sparring?"

"Ah, yes. Before I came into the city, I took swordsmanship lessons for fun, though Father never approved and said that wielding a gun was much better and more convenient. I also heard that the Erudon family practiced swordsmanship for generations. I thought it would be a fun thing to do."

Sieghart quickly coughed to break up their conversation.

"Ah, yes, Elesis, didn't I say no flirting until you're nineteen?"

Elesis and Ronan blushed furiously.

"F-F-Flirting!? W-What kind of a preposterous idea is that?"

Elesis smacked Sieghart's shoulder, which immediately crippled Sieghart again.

"FUCK-!"

The man fell onto the ground, hugging his shoulder and flailing his legs a bit.

"You didn't have to hit me that hard!"

Elesis, in response, only pouted and looked away. Her face was still as red as a strawberry.

"S-Shut up! You deserved it!"

"Oww-"

He tried to get up, but only flopped back onto the ground. He called for Ronan to help.

"B-Boss! You're so heavy. . Did Miss Onette not tell you that you needed to eat healthier things!?"

At this comment, Sieghart did a spittake. Elesis was on the brink of laughing uncontrollably.

"Ah, sorry, boss."

Ronan felt guilty of making fun of his boss unintentionally. He helped Sieghart up with all of his strength.

Elesis coughed. She got back to her serious demeanor. Sick of playing games all this time, she goes up to Sieghart.

"Well? What do I do now?"

"Ah, yes? Oh, right. You have to go and meet all of the workers here. I'll bring you on a personal tour myself. Ronan, you can go now."

With that, Ronan left to go do his job.

Elesis and Sieghart went through the door that was in his office to the main building. There were several cubicles in the room that they crossed into. In those, there were workers typing away on computers. Some people looked up to stare at the duo before going back into their work. Some waved to them and respectfully addressed their Boss.

She noticed that her older cousin was well-respected. He explained that the room they were in was the information center. It was where they gathered info on recent cases. Burglaries, mysteries, murders.

In this room, there were doors branching out to other rooms. They went into the door which had a sign that read "Training Center". They were only in here for a brief time, Sieghart explaining that this was where newbies and veterans would practice their aim. It is mostly used by the newbies or people who have trouble aiming, such as those from the information center.

After leaving that room, they entered a new room. This room was full of files. . On people, their records. Their personal information. There was somebody filing through the things whom Sieghart noticed.

"Hey, Lime."

He said in a serious tone. The female had pretty blonde hair with pretty aqua undertones. Her hair was done in two buns on the side of her head. She looked very young, Elesis noted. Lime's eyes twinkled with passion, even when filing through papers. She wore a burgundy skirt with stockings, and a uniform shirt that had an officer's badge on it. She was clearly very serious about her job. Elesis could clearly see the gun holster on her thigh.

"What's up?"

"There was another case," she replied to him. Her voice was soft and gentle. Very feminine.

"Another one? Who's the victim."

Sieghart beckoned Elesis closer.

"On Arcadia Oak Street. Address is 1033. The victim is Ada Willoughby; 21. No valuables were taken, but there was implied tampering. Her brother whom she is living with was out that day. He came back and saw her there, strewn about on the floor."

"How was she killed?"

"Death by blade. A large butcher knife, to be exact. The killer left it there. The same one-exactly like the ones our agency acquired the week before."

"Damnation."

"The family has demanded that someone look into this case. They're beckoning for us. We already have ten pending situations with the exact same murder sequence."

"Hmm," Elesis interjected. "Don't you think it's a serial killer? If you take one case and prioritize it, then you'd find the killer anyways."

"Huh? That is a smart idea, Red."

"Maybe. Let's look more into it."

Sieghart agreed.

"U-Um. . If it's not too late-by any chance, do I know you?"

Lime looked up at Elesis. Her azure eyes stared brightly. Elesis kneeled down to where Lime was sitting and held out her hand.

"My name is Elesis Sieghart. A new recruit. Glad to meet you. Your name?"

Elesis tried her most gentlest smile, which she pulled off pretty well. Lime took her hand and smiled brightly as if it was the most natural thing in this world.

"My name is Lime Serenity. I'm a veteran officer. Ah, Sir Sieghart, if you don't mind, how about let Elesis join our division to investigate this case?"

"Oh?" Sieghart was now extremely intrigued. "It's not like you, Lime. Taking in a new recruit so easily? Several new recruits, even. You would always worry that Rufus would scare them off."

"H-Huh? N-No! I'm welcome to everyone!" Lime whined. "D-Don't describe him like that! I refuse to acknowledge that Rufus is a bad person."

Sieghart sighed. Elesis patted Lime on the head.

"I'm sure he's not that bad of a person."

Her cousin then coughed very loudly, "It's cause you just haven't met him." He stated blankly.

"Q-Quiet!" Lime looked like she was about to break into sobs. How could such a cute little girl be an officer? She wiped the forming tears at her eyes and stood up confidently.

"In any case, Elly, I want you to be part of our division~ We're to head out soon. Will you join us?" Lime affectionately grabbed Elesis' hands.

"O-Of course!"

"Then I'm coming too~" Sieghart chirped cheerfully, "I wanna see how the team does. Plus, I haven't checked in this division in such a long time. I have to make sure that the other new recruits are worth it as well. Remember that Veigas guy? Bright kid, he was, but arrogant as fuck."

"A-Ah. He was a tad bit mean, I guess."

"Yup. Too mean. Arrogant too. The only reason why he was accepted was cause the tester was his older brother. I'm glad we fired him."

Elesis observed the conversation absentmindedly. Lime then poked her in the side, which made her squeak in response.

"A-Ah-!?"

She fell over as Sieghart chuckled, "Red, you can't be so absent minded! It'll hurt your career."

"R-Right."

Embarrassed, Elesis quickly gets up. Lime also gets up.

"Let's go~"

"Already?" Elesis is surprised by the suddenness of the situation. "Alright then. Lead the way."

The three of them walked out. They entered a door which had the label _"Initiation Rooms"_. There were several doors leading to different small rooms. They went into one that had the label "2nd Division".

"Second division is your group, alright, Elly?" Lime smiled. "I'm the leader of this group. The members are me, Rufus, Lire, and Arme. Before it was just me and Rufus, until Lire and Arme came yesterday. They're the new recruits other than you. I invited them here because Lire displayed skills in sniping and Arme displayed skills in first aid. I've heard much about you from Sir Sieghart here."

Sieghart suddenly blushed red to his ears.

"Teehee. He would always say positive things about you. How your aim was perfect, how you always stayed somewhat level-headed during missions. I hope that we can witness that too~"

Elesis also blushed.

"A-Ah. I hope to be in your service, Miss Serenity."

"Lime is just fine," she said in a cheery tone that surpassed Sieghart's level of relaxed, "It's more casual that way."

Lime moved across the room. It had a single light at the top. There is a table in the center with five chairs. One in the front and two on each side. On the wall was a plain white board. On the table was a pretty vase with fake flowers; there were several papers strewn about. It was something you'd expect out of a movie.

"Of course, if you're uncomfortable, you can always ask to be switched out. Many others have done it, so feel free," Lime sat down in a chair and beckoned Elesis to it also. She complied.

"Sieghart, please take a seat also, if you would like~"

He was watching and gladly agreed. He took the seat across from Elesis.

"I will call Rufus soon to bring in the new recruits. They're in the training rooms practicing their trades. Now, I'm simply judging you from what Sieghart has told us all about you, Elesis," Lime smiled at them both. "I have very high expectations from you."

Elesis nods. In that moment, the door opened. Lime glowed brighter than before as she smiled a wide and happy smile.

"Rufus~ You're back!"

"Yea. I'm back."

He seemed like an antisocial guy. Tall and pale. He had chestnut brown hair which was curly and unkept. Locks of his hair fell down the side of his face, which covered one of his sharp eyes. His face seemed to be in a permanent glare, but loosened up when Lime approached.

"This is another new recruit, Elesis Sieghart~ I hope you don't mind that I accepted one without your approval, Rufus," Lime brightly stated.

"Oh. If you're the one who brought her in here, then I already know she must be skilled. . . . Is that the Boss?"

"Yup~ He said that he wanted to observe how we were doing."

"Tch."

Rufus sat down. Two other people came in.

"That's Lire."

He pointed to Lire. She was very pretty and busty. Her hair was a pretty golden blonde colour. Her eyes were green and as bright as emeralds. Her hair was in a high ponytail. With her blunt-cut bangs with hair framing her face, she looked younger than she probably was.

"That's Arme."

He then moved to a very short little girl. She had short black hair with the tips dyed purple. This girl names Arme seemed to be a mischievous little thing, as her bright pretty violet eyes showed signs of impulse. She wore her hair down, it was shoulder length and was wavy and puffy around her shoulders. She carried a first aid case.

Lime smiled gently and kindly at both of them.

"I'm Lime Serenity~ It's a pleasure to meet you two. This is Elesis."

She points to Elesis, who was sitting in a chair.

"I recruited her a few moments ago. I have high expectations for all of you three. The one over here," she pointed to Sieghart," is Ecnard Sieghart. He's the Boss of the agency. Please treat him with respect~"

Sieghart smiled at the two girls, which made them both blush. Elesis just facepalmed.

"Hey, you two, if you let him charm you like that, don't expect to get married," she rudely stated.

"R-Red!"

"Well it's _true._"

Sieghart sighed. "Let's hurry and get on with this.1033 Arcadia Oak Street, right?"

"Correct," Lime replied. "I'll call for a vehicle."

"Ah, of course. Let's hurry up and go," Sieghart got up and pulled Elesis out of her chair.

"Hey!"

"Haha~ Don't trip~"

He dragged her out of the room as Lime giggled.

"I haven't seen Sieghart so cheery until now. Isn't it such a good thing? I wonder what happened to make him so close to his cousin."


	2. Chaos Begins

"_Huh? Elaine Sieghart . . Is dead?" You suddenly felt distressed and hopeless. She's your "aunt". She was the one who took you in after your bastard of a father left you. She's like a mother._

_What of her daughter?_

_Your little cousin. Ten years old- too young to possibly understand what was happening. You can't let the same thing that happened to you happen to her. Right, you're in the police now! Rising up the ranks as young as you are. The youngest in the history of police._

_You can take care of her. Question is, who would dare murder Elaine? You promised to yourself, you'd find the culprit. You'd take them in, arrest them, then take their life in front of the court when they deem guilty._

_You'll be the best; because you want to protect her-the only family you have left to call "family"._

_You laughed out loud to yourself in a crazed manner. You found a new resolve._

* * *

"Hey! Ecnard? Ecnard!" Elesis shook her elder cousin. "Wake up! We're here!"

"Hey! Wake up you little shit!"

Rufus stepped in and smacked Sieghart with the barrel of his gun. It woke him up instantly. Stumbling out of the seat, the man looked up at the both of them.

"I'm awake already! Good Christ that hurt!" he rubbed his head.

"We're here already. Get out of the car," Elesis stated. She then pulled Sieghart to his feet and pulled him out of the vehicle. He got out and straightened himself on the pavement.

In front of the group was a huge mansion. Tall and towering, it was decorated in box plants and wind chimes. It also resembled a Victorian house; fancy with laid out in marble tile as a pathway to the house. The white gates were busted open, most likely by another division which came through here to report the situation.

The group passed through the gates, which seemed foreboding and ominous. The aura of death circulated through the air. The newer members lagged behind. Lire seemed quite uncomfortable, as did Arme. Elesis was also noticeably uncomfortable.

Rufus knocked on the door. It opened with a creak. A man appeared at the doorway. He was absolutely distressed, his face was pale and ghastly. He wore fancy clothing; a black suit with polished shoes. Must be Miss Willoughby's brother.

"A-Ah! You're here! P-Please! Help!"

He opened the door and beckoned the group in. The air was nauseating in the house-death was absolutely evident. It was humid and hot, a change from the freezing February weather outside. They were in a somewhat wide wooden hallway. It was cleanly polished and neat, and made a hollow noise when walked across.

The group followed the man into a room. The scene was horror-worthy. A body was strewn out clumsily on the ground. The bed was covered in thick, blackened blood. All around the covered body was a spray of the red liquid, outlining the figure of the victim. It covered about one fifth of the room, right in the middle. It was unrealistically messy. Immediately, handkerchiefs went over their noses and mouths. It stank of rotting flesh.

Arme and Lire looked sick. The former stumbled back, wishing that she had filed for a different job. She had to _touch_ the corpse. . .As Arme took a step forward, she was stopped by Lime, who was expressionless through the ordeal.

Elesis seemed fine, though she did look a tad bit nauseated. She watched as her elder cousin stepped forward, though hesitating to get close to the deteriorating carcass. He grabbed the handle of the blade which penetrated through the covered body. He pulled it out, the flesh made a disgusting _sluck_ noise as it freed the dulled blade.

". . . Same God fucked one. Damnation!"

In a rage, Sieghart threw the butcher knife to the ground. Lime idealistically picked it back up-she was surprisingly strong for such a small little girl. She held it next to her, bringing the blood-covered blade in viewing range of Arme. In response, Arme gestured to do the inspection outside with fresh air. The two left the room, closing the door behind them.

Rufus, Sieghart, Lire, and Elesis were now getting used to the nausea. They moved closer to the body, inspecting what was under the sheet that had covered it.

"What's that?"

Lire pointed at a stained piece of paper. It was folded neatly and was nicely set into the dead woman's mouth. Lire put on her latex gloves she was equipped with and pulled it out.

"Can't be too safe. There may be poison. . The killer probably used this to gag the victim. There's ink on this-a note!?"

"Huh? Come to think of it. . There was something in the other twelve victim's mouths too. Good job, Eryuell," Rufus praised. Lire blushed a bit.

"Glad to be of services. Doesn't seem like there's anything else in this room other than the corpse." Lire opened the door and everyone followed suit. The man was waiting for them.

"D-D-Did you find anything on the murder of my sister? She's my dear twin sister. ."

"Yes. We found a lot of information. We will get on to your case soon." Sieghart said, then nodded. "You might want to clean that room up. By the way," he took out some coins and tossed them at the man, "care to tip that cute maid over there?"

As Sieghart winked, Elesis dragged Sieghart out by the ear. Rufus and Lire were facepalming and already outside.

"Do you absolutely _have_ to flirt with anything that has a vagina?"

"Well, Red, I didn't flirt with that corpse in there~"

"Shut your lecherous trap."

"Oho~ Getting a tad bit physical there, aren't you Re-"

The redhead jabbed Sieghart in the gut with her elbow, which successfully brought the male into submission. Rufus dragged him by the arm and started speaking.

"Nice strength your cousin has there, Sieghart. Let's go. We don't want you to give any unwanted pregnancies here."

* * *

"Rin? Did you find anything on the serial killer?"

Ronan asked to a lone girl in the room. There were windows all around; she hated artificial light. She was extremely beautiful and in her early twenties. Her raven black hair was done in a looped ponytail on the side of her head. Rin's skin was glowing and was a healthy olive colour.

"Ah, yes. Come here for a second, Ronan. I've found something very interesting. ."

Ronan stepped in images. Each were showing the various deaths of those whom were targeted. All of them shared the same bloody fate. Stab wounds and a bloody and closed the door. He moved closer.

"I've realized something. . All those murders. They had something similar, and it wasn't just the weapon used. Here, look."

She clicked on about twelve photos, each in a different window. All of them featuring grotesque murder.

"Hmm. Rin, explain for me."

"Well, in each of these images. . . look at the victims. All females. All of them young, no older than thirty. The only exception was the most recent victim, who was forty-two. Also, look at this."

Rin browsed through quite a lot of files before finding the one she wanted to click on. She clicked on the file.

". . That was from seven years ago."

"I know. But look at the death. . The first one, we can assume, of the murder spree. She's been murdered the exact same way," she said as she clicked and zoomed in on the blurred picture.

"Huh?" Ronan noticed something strange. "The name. . Who is this?"

". . . Let me check." Rin clicked a bit more, then typed something into the searchbar. "Hmm. This was indeed seven years ago. The woman's name is _'Elaine Sieghart'_. According to the files, she was murdered by stabs in the back. Before her death, there was a message on the floor written in blood. According to her daughter who had just arrived on the scene, the message was, _"Mama loves you, Elle"_."

"S-_Sieghart_? Daughter?"

"Yes. Quite a resemblance to our new recruit, hm?"

Ronan nodded. He was sure it was her.

"Did the previous force inquire her?"

"Ah, of course. My caretaker from when I was young was in the agency. She interviewed the little girl. If I recall correctly. . She recorded the interview. I will find it. Please, your business is done here, Ronan. I wish to be in private now."

"Ah, yes. I'll leave now, thank you for your time, Rin. I can always count on you."

Ronan smiled at her before leaving and closing the door. As Ronan exited, an employee came forward frantically.

"S-Sir! Division one has dispatched; there is a break-in at the weapons and armoury department on 23'rd Candor Truth Street. The storekeeper was shot through the head from the window in the back. The intruder broke in and was assumed to steal several things. These items included a sniper rifle, a shotgun, and several large butcher knives."

"W-What!?"

"Do not be alarmed, First Division has heard of the news earlier. They have already left the agency in order to pursue the burglar. In the time that this was reported, the burglar should not have gotten far. There were no cars in vicinity, nor was there any way of escaping."

"A-Ah. Did they take any ammunition?"

"Any what?"

"Any ammo! Those guns weren't loaded. Did they take any ammo!?"

Ronan stepped closer to the reporter.

"I-I'm not sure! The shopkeeper did not keep track of the ammo crates!"

"Ugh!" Ronan pushed the employee away. "Where's the Boss? We don't want any more casualties this time! The last weapons shop that was raided ended up in a huge passersby killing, eliminating everybody at Amity Hall!"

"The Boss is with Division Two, investigating the recent murder that occurred yesterday, sir!"

"Is there any free division?"

"Yes, but they're the rookies. They can't possibly-"

Ronan cut him off, yelling because of all the pressure. "Take them out! Order them to guard the public areas around the weapon shop. The weapon shop is located at 23'd Candor Truth Street. Tell the rookies to take cover in areas around that place, block the road to Amelia Park with the cars. There is a mass gathering in that area."

"Y-Yes!"

Ronan had a headache. It wasn't in him to be the leader type, but he had a tad bit too much to worry about. It was making him agitated. He didn't want another massacre. Ronan called Division 2 to tell them the situation.

After the call, he then walked over to the weapon's department and grabbed a rifled handgun as well as something small he slipped into his pocket.

"I guess I have some time to do some investigation."

* * *

A phone rang in the small cab that was carrying Division 2. Sieghart reached into his pocket and turned on his phone. "GCMI Emergency". He quickly answered the call.

"What happened!?"

In the silent car, everyone intently listened to their conversation.

"Sieghart. There has been a break-in at a weapons and armoury storage on 23'd Candor Truth Street! We had blocked the one-way road to Amelia Park. It is crucial that you go to the other side of the street where the burglar may exit. Hurry!"

The phone suddenly hung up. Sieghart didn't waste a minute as he screamed for the cab driver to speed to Amelia Park. The cab driver nodded and bumped up the speed, but not enough to surpass the driving limit.

"Fuck! I should have never -"

"Sieghart! Calm down!" Lime urged the worked-up man to sit down. She was already taking out her gun. "Everyone, get armed. This isn't a cakewalk situation."

To her command, everyone followed suit, except for Arme who did not have any gun.

"Arme," Lime commanded, "you're to stay put and tend to any authorities who have been injured."

"A-Ah! Yes!"

". . . . ." Lire sat silently, staring out the window. _'That's strange. . .'_, she thought. She observed again, catching the sight of boarded windows-

"S-Stop the car!" the blonde girl unbuckled her belt and leapt towards the cab driver. He yelped a few curses. The blonde quickly pressed on the breaks, which threw the car into a spin. The wheels screeched as she put the gun to the driver's head. "Everyone get out! He's not the driver!"

Everyone was caught in surprise. Their daze was broken by the desperate screaming of Lire's. Rufus turned to open his side of the car first, but found that it was locked. After loud cursing, he busted open the door and pulled Lime out. Elesis was on the other side. She dragged Arme out. The little healer stood in shock, scared for Lire's life.

"Let go of me, you little bitch-!"

"No!"

The driver knocked the gun out of the Lire's hand. He took out his own gun and put it to her temple. Sieghart was outside and looked at the scene with fury;he was ready to tear apart the offender if he had the chance.

"If any one of you shoot, I will shoot!"

He carried a protesting Lire out of the car. Everyone was caught in stillmotion. The man smiled and made his way out of the circle. Arme was already crying. Lime was solemn. Elesis, who was closest to the pair, starred with her menacing eyes.

_A ring of shots was fired. The loud gunshots followed right after the last. Blinding light was cast upon the dusty setting, illuminating everyone's faces._

_Blood sprayed out._

* * *

Ronan reloaded his revolver. Shit. He put his back to the wall, quiet as possible. He couldn't let them know that he was there. He took out the little device he had in his pocket. It was a little black rectangular machine with a contractible steel rod poking from it. The device had about the same weight as two bullets. . .

Ronan had tinkered with the device after finding it at the ransacked weapons storage. It wasn't part of the store at all; the clerk confirmed. It was probably dropped from the escapee burglar. Ronan had found a tracking device on it. . And it lead him here.

He starred as the scene unfolded. Lire was unleashed, surprised and a bit terrified. The man who had her captive was shot six times. Bullseye.

It was just a fated encounter, really. He had tracked down the nearest other device in the city. Following the trail, he ended up here. It was an abandoned warehouse; something you'd see in the movies or in a book. Of course the agency has checked this same place before, but nothing was found.

He leaned in closer to the wall and ducked into the darkness of the allyway and watched the scene unfold. He watched as the group converged on Lire. Two people kept guard with their guns facing where Ronan was. They didn't see him, as their eyes were directed at something else. There were noises coming from the inside of the danky building. The smell of rust and metal overpowered one of the detective's senses.

"Whoever is in there, come out! This is the authorities!"

Elesis' powerful voice boomed throughout the area. It was commanding and condescending. The crescendo of her vocal chords rung throughout his ears. A laugh was heard coming from the construction mess.

A loud crash was heard.

"_I have better things to do, little girl. Go find someone else to play with-you're not ready to face me."_

The voice was a males. Recognition was in the girl's face as she backed off.

"Who. . Who are you!?"

But with that, there was a shatter and nobody responded. Elesis stomped her foot in anger. Sieghart was curious as to why she was so flustered, but quickly backed off at her rage. Ronan decided it was a good chance to come out-then rethought. He fled deeper into the alleyway.

"Huh?" a tiny girl's voice called. Arme's. "What's that sound? It came from there. ." as she pointed to where Ronan's hiding spot was. Crap. Ronan knew well that he wasn't following protocol to stay where he was in case of emergencies. He also knew that if they found out that the information officer was missing from his desk, he'd be fired in an instant-well, maybe not an _instant_, but it'd be recorded.

He's done this one too many times to get caught now.

Ronan made a rush into the dark of the alleyway, feeling his way through the tunnels. The Division then heard the sounds of his footsteps. Shit. Too careless. Running vividly, he found a window in order to escape.

"Split up! There are more criminals!"

Cursing was one of the things that crowded Ronan's brain at the moment. He jumped up at the ledge of the window and skillfully climbed in. It was humid in that room, Ronan stepped in a puddle, then kneeled down and poked his head barely out the window. He observed the scene as Lime crossed his pathway.

"Dead end over here!" she called. She then was met with other dead ends from the others of the group. After about three hours or so, the group went to leave. Ronan exited the window, glad to have a breath of fresh air before leaving. It was well into twilight by now. The golden light flittered through the window.

Ronan smelled disgusting.

It smelled like old blood and-

_Blood?_

Ronan silently turned back into the room he was just in.

_Bodies._

He choked on a scream as he looked down at his feet. The squishing sound of his soles. . .

_Puddle._

He felt faint in his head. . .

_Murder._

The shrill memory of the laughing from before filled his mind as he let go of his held-in tears of terror.

_An ear-piercing scream was let out just before the fall. . ._

* * *

"What was that!?"

As the group turned around. A scream? What? Who. .

Elesis turned around, "I heard something! From back there! I'll go take a look. You go on ahead." She ran back to the place they were at, the voice sounded familiar. She couldn't shake off the feeling. .

Sieghart followed behind, "I'll go with you. You're still a rookie, remember?"

"Fine."

The two made their way to the abandoned warehouse. The sound of their feet pounding and adrenaline was exhilarating. They cut through the cold evening air. Panting, she stopped and observed the scene, then pointed to an alleyway.

"Did we check there yet?"

"It's a dead end."

"All the more reason. Let's go," she finalized her answer as she leapt ahead of her elder cousin. He sighed as he followed closely behind. They seemed to be running for hours. It was too dark to see now.

"Hey, it smells strange here. . I have a flashlight with me." Sieghart's voice called out.

Just then, a coughing and a lurch was heard. In a quick motion, Sieghart turned on the flashlight. Elesis gasped as she looked down. On the ground was a man curled up in a corner. He was wheezing in the cold night air. He looked sick. He looked frightened. _He looked familiar. . ._

"R-Ronan?"

Sieghart bent down and slung the man onto his back. He responded with a short grunt, tired. Elesis had wanted to inquiry, but was held back by her colleague. They carried him out of the alleyway. Once out, they noticed the dripping wet liquid that soaked Ronan's clothing.

"Blood?"

Ronan coughed roughly. Sieghart straightened the man on his back.

"I had told you months before to quit this! You know how dangerous it is!"

"Ah, yea," he let out another rough coughing spree,"I know. I couldn't help myself after all the clues I found." His voice was hoarse.

Sieghart sighed, then directed his voice at his friend. "Been a detective; always a detective. I know that you're the type to keep things to yourself, but share with others once and a while."

"It's dangerous."

"That's why the agency is here; to do things that normal people won't ever think of doing."

"It's not a normal case."

"Is your stupid 'family magic' curse shit?"

"O-Of course no-" Ronan coughed again, then groaned.

"I think you two should stop blabbering on. Ronan looks like he fell from a story-high building. It's amazing that he can still open his eyes after that," Elesis interjected," it's quite impressive, actually."

At her compliment, Ronan flushed a bit, though it was undetectable in the dark of the evening. Ronan coughed and leaned more against Sieghart's back.

"Hopefully I don't mind the smell of my clothing later," Sieghart jokingly said,"it'll stink like a girl on her period."

"Shut up!" Both the girl and the injured man shouted. The joker laughed.

"Where's the car anyways. . ." Elesis inquired.

"I don't know; not like I give a damn at this point. They probably left. It's been hours. Too dark to go and look for anyone. Don't worry, I know the way back."

"Sure?"

"Positive."

* * *

Rin browsed her computer looking for the file of the interview. The lights were turned on. She was the only one left in the building. Office hours were from 6:30 to 8:15. . . .

She came across the exact same file from looking into her computer. In the main computer? She wasn't supposed to open this, but. . . Rin clicked on the file.

"Blocked, hmm? Not a little bit of here and there. . .Ah, yes!"

Rin typed in a code with her lightning quick fingers. She unlocked the file just like that. _"Ronan would be pleased with me,"_ she thought. She double clicked the file. Multiple copies. A word document? She clicked the document in curiosity.

_**First Degree murder**_

_**Victim: Sieghart, Elaine**_

_**1 Daughter**_

_**Married**_

_**Aged 30**_

_**No siblings.**_

_**Date murdered: 19XX**_

_**Murder Procedure:**_

_**Stab to the back; fatal wound.**_

"What's this? Married. . . The father was never mentioned. No information. Moving onto the interview. . ."

The filmed recording was very staticy. Sound was barely audible with the noise. Rin stared at the screen. It was already ten. . .

"**What is your name?"**

"**My name is E. . . . ."**

"**How old . . re you?"**

"**I'm ten."**

"**W. . .at time did y. .u come h. .me?"**

"**A. . six..."**

"**That's v. .y late."**

"**I know. . P. . .a . s. . . me to . . ous . . . He . . . .wa. . . s. . .thi. . . . M. . . .-"**

The film was cut off into static. Nothing else was heard. Rin got up from her desk.

Suddenly, glass shattered. The lights went into emergency power. Rin gasped as she grabbed her gun from her pocket. She ducked under a different cubicle computer desk, but not before shutting down her own computer. She loaded her gun and ducked into the underside of the desk, successfully blending into the darkness with her dark outfit and black hair. She looked out from under the desk. The room was dyed an eerie blue colour. Bits of red light from the emergency warning light bulb flashed over and over.

The girl heard someone enter through the window. She ducked closer into the desk, readying her gun. Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the agency's floor.

"My my, what do we have here? Little Miss?"

The intruder kneeled down to stare at the girl in the eyes; she was too terrified to pull the trigger. Insanity flowed through the contact. He reached out a gloved hand to pat the girl's head in a gentle manner.

"It's time for you to disappear, little girl. Ah, I thought you wouldn't find out _this_ much. . . _Next time you should lock your windows_."

A scream was heard as blood splattered throughout the room. The fresh liquid dying the cubicles a deep crimson. Choked sobbing made way through the sound of flesh being sliced. The emergency lights flashed back to power-flickering on and off. On and off. Like the knife through her body. .

The girl was strewn onto the ground, stepped on by a heavy foot. Insane laughter sprouted from the man's vocal chords as he smiled down at her. Blood was splattered all over the walls, glistening in the blue-hued emergency lights just like a liquid black diamond.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you off. At least, not with my blade. Have fun trying to last the night. Your screams were wonderful."

The intruder put Rin's gun to the computer. Debris and glass shattered. The gun's flare illuminated the room with each pull of the trigger.

"Good night, Little Missy."

_A choked cry came from a girl as her killer left her._

_Never fated to die by his hand; she slowly felt the life ooze out of her._

_Looking at her hand, she realized it was covered in blood._

_Taking all of her strength, she scrawled on the wall:_

"_**He's here"**_


End file.
